Baby Hasselback Sweet Potatoes with Garlic Herb Butter

Baby Hasselback Sweet Potatoes with Garlic Herb Butter make a striking side dish. Slice potatoes thinly keeping the base intact, fan out accordian style, and baste with garlic herb butter. When it comes to side dishes, these Baby Hasselback Sweet Potatoes are the top dog!

What are Hasselback potatoes? They’re baked potatoes that have been thinly sliced almost all the way through, fanned out accordion-style, and basted with butter, oil, cheese, herbs or . . . the sky’s the limit! Fanning them allows you to baste away to your heart’s content and turns an ordinary baked potato into a showstopper side dish. Hasselback potatoes were named after the Swedish restaurant where they were first served.

Tender on the outside and soft inside, Hasselback potatoes make a striking side. I decided to try the same method with sweet potatoes . . . actually, baby sweet potatoes and I was happy with the result. Since sweet potatoes already have so much flavour, I made a simple garlic herb butter to baste them. Sweet potatoes are an excellent source of beta-carotene, Vitamin A, Vitamin C and potassium, making them a healthy choice.

It’s easy to slice them . . . and it’s also easy to accidentally cut right through the sweet potatoes and ruin your presentation! Here’s a simple trick. Place chopsticks or the handles of wooden spoons on either side of the potato. Slice thinly and the chopsticks will prevent your knife from cutting all the way through.

Rub or brush garlic herb butter (or olive oil) on the potatoes before baking, being careful not to break the slices by prying them apart too far. A basting brush works well for this job. Your cuts probably won’t be perfectly even and it simply doesn’t matter. These baby Hasselback sweet potatoes are so tasty that no one will be analyzing your slicing techniques!

Can you make these Baby Hasselback Sweet Potatoes ahead of time?

My favourite question! I’m always looking for dishes that don’t have to be prepared at the last minute. Scrub the sweet potatoes, slice them as described above and place them in cold water to prevent them from discolouring. Pat dry before basting with butter or oil or seasonings of your choice, then bake as directed.

I’ve baked these early in the day and reheated them just before serving time. They taste just as good, but they do tend to shrivel a little, so they’re not quite as spectacular in appearance as they are when served directly from the oven.

Slice the sweet potatoes in thin slices, leaving 1/4 inch at the bottom intact. To prevent accidentally cutting all the way through, place a potato between two chopsticks. The chopsticks will stop the knife.

Transfer potatoes to baking sheet.

Combine butter, garlic and herbs. Spread on top of potatoes. Bake for 25 - 30 minutes or until tender. Baste with the melted garlic butter that remains on baking sheet and serve.